Going Home
by DaemonicKitten
Summary: He said she would never go home again. He was wrong.


**Disclaimer**: I don't own Reign or any of its affiliates.

**Summary**: He said she would never go home. He was wrong.

**Legend**:

"Speaking."

_Thoughts._

**(Scene/POV Changes)**

**Flashbacks**

**(Normal POV)**

* * *

It all happened so fast and so slow at the same time.

One minute she was laughing with her friends. They spoke of Mary's wedding, and even with the concerns about this mysterious prophecy, things couldn't keep them down for long. They discussed love, destiny, and the dress...before she decided she had to finish her letter to her parents, and left.

But not before trying the drink Kenna had given her.

It _was_ good! Lemon, sage and something floral. Flowery. Lavender, maybe? It was sweet and sour at the same time, tickling her taste buds as it went down, and she sipped it lightly as she walked along the corridor.

In the back of her mind, Nostradamus' words lingered.

**Flashback**

_"You will never go home."_

**End Flashback**

The warmth of the day was getting to her slowly, as she felt the threat of sweat on her brow. She walked down the empty hall feeling the dryness of her throat begging her for more than a sip of the sweet, warm tea in her hand. She obliged, only to choke a bit on it as something in the drink (a seed, maybe?) caught in her throat.

It didn't take her long to realize that it wasn't a seed. Poison seeped through her veins. Poison meant for _Kenna_, that _she_ had drunk instead. The thought was a cold, terrifying one, and she struggled against the pain and suffocation, gasping and rasping as she hurried down the empty halls, looking for aid.

Nostradamus' infirmary wasn't far. If she could make it-

But she didn't.

**Flashback**

_"You will never go home."_

**End Flashback**

Even poisoned, nearly delirious, she felt the hand on her back. She felt her body shoved forward at the top of the stairs, towards the cold, unforgiving stone beneath her. Her scream echoed in the air around her, and vaguely she wondered how she had the strength_ to_ scream with the air that refused to fill her lungs.

She hit stone.

She hit it hard!

And she didn't feel it.

She felt none of it as she fell, her body twisting and twirling in a gruesome way as it rolled and bounced down the sharp, cold stairs. Numbly, she hit the floor, her hands lying on either side of her body as she lay there...unable to move...barely able to breathe.

Sounds echoed around her.

A face appeared over hers, but...something wasn't right about it. It took her a moment to process the strange sack covering it, and the nearly inhuman voice that spoke.

"I'm sorry. Mary must believe. You must die to save Mary."

And then it was gone.

She wanted to call out to them. To beg the figure not to leave her alone. Fear was the worst part. She was alone, and her body wasn't listening. She couldn't breathe. She didn't feel right.

And then there was another sound.

Someone was...screaming...?

OH! There was Greer and Lola!

She wanted to smile at her dear friends and assure them she would be okay now, with them at her side, but she realized the truth of the situation. _Poison_. Her body was broken. Something was wrong. They leaned over her, talking rapidly, tears streaming down their faces. Good _lord_, they were _pale_! Wasn't _she_ the one dying?

...Dying...

She was...dying.

**Flashback**

_"You will never go home."_

**End Flashback**

It almost made her laugh.

"H-He said..." Her words were cut off by gasps, and her head spun.

"Oh, God! The _blood_! There's so much _blood_! HELP! SOMEONE GET NOSTRADAMUS!"

"A-Aylee...? Don't try to talk!"

"H-He was...right..." She _tried_ to move, truly she did, but her body didn't want to respond. No, that's not right. She felt her fingers twitching, her hand shifting. She _could_ move! Her fingers brushed against the ring she wore. Her mother's ring. _Mother... I-I'm sorry!_

"SOMEONE GET MARY!"

"AYLEE! Oh my God!" Kenna's face appeared over hers, and now all three of her friends stared down at her.

Pale.

Horrified.

_I...I-I'm dying..._

**Flashback**

_"You will never go home."_

**End Flashback**

She wanted to cry. The coughs and choking finally faded, but she still couldn't breathe, and try as she might, she couldn't muster the strength to let the tears fall from her face. It was like she had none, which was a strange, absurd thought. Where would her tears _go_?

Oh, look! There was Mary!

Gasping once, twice, she stared up at her queen. Her friend, who leaned down to her. "H-He said...I'd never go home again." It was like a daze as she spoke the words. The words that had haunted her since the day she'd heard them.

**Flashback**

_"You will never go home."_

**End Flashback**

"Aylee, no." Tears coursed down Mary's cheeks.

"Too much blood-" She felt it as Mary attempted to lift her and felt her eyes fall shut as a sharp jolt of pain hit her. Reaching up, she grabbed her queen's arm, realizing that the rest of her body wasn't lifting. Broken, then. Her neck, most likely. "S-She said...for you..."

Things got hazy. She couldn't _breathe_! Scared as she was, she gasped for breath, clutching her queen's arm as she struggled to think!

"Y-You...we...must..." And as the world faded away, she felt everything drain out of her, and a warmth enveloping her. Her body relaxed. The insatiable screaming of her lungs faded, along with the confusion and heaviness. She looked to the sky, and saw the green, rolling plains of home before her. "Go home now..."

Her eyes shut and everything faded away...

And she flew.

She flew over the vast fields, watching wildflowers bloom. She watched the rivers run, and red deer as they grazed. Children ran through fields, chasing their deer hounds, and little girls made wreaths of flowers.

Everything was _so_ bright and warm.

And then she saw her.

Her grandmother.

With a wide smile, she ran straight to her, racing across the green ground, not even noting or caring she was flying no longer. "GRANDMA!" She raced up to her, laughing, and wrapped her arms around the elder woman, who held her close.

"Welcome home, Aylee."

"Home..."

**Flashback**

_"You will never go home."_

**End Flashback**

Looking up, she felt nothing but love and peace, surrounded by every color in existence and more. She found her grandmother, and looked past her, to where her grandfather approached, and at his side, her favorite baby red deer, Star.

Behind them sat her favorite little house. It was small and cozy, and her mind immediately flew back to her childhood memories of playing there with her friends. She could hear the laughter, remember the jokes and games.

"He told me I would never go home..." She laughed. "He was wrong. I am home." She looked up and hugged her grandma tightly. "I'm _home_!"

* * *

**Note** : This is my first Reign fanfic, written at 2:45am. I hated Aylee's death and was working on another story when this popped into my head. I hope I didn't butcher it too badly. It's been a _long_ time since I last wrote/posted any fanfictions.

**Written**: Dec 15, 2013

Hope you like it.

R+R Please.

Thank you.

Kitten.


End file.
